Family of slain Mexican environmentalist refuses to flee

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The wife and children of an environmental activist slain in the mountains of southern Mexico have refused to leave their village despite threats against them, Mexico’s Interior Department said Monday.

The department said authorities traveled to the hamlet of Las Conchitas last week to make contact with the wife of Carlos Marqués Oyorzábal.

Marqués Oyorzábal, who helped lead a struggle against illegal logging in the region plagued by criminal and drug gangs, was killed by assailants near Conchitas on April 4 and his body was reportedly hacked up.

The Interior Department offered to “extract” his wife and the couple’s six children, presumably to take them to a safer place. However, the wife refused, saying they did not want to abandon their community, the department said.

The department said some unspecified security measures would be provided for them in Las Conchitas.